Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
The star was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his new release People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
He also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation supported venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to issues arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in upgrading amenities and gear that helped artists and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in big venues backs the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
In they earned the prize in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would contribute their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her award among multiple charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," the artist explained to the media.
In recent years, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year the group contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had protected two local spots in that region, by placing them under local control.
One venue in that area and the other in the city were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "shares" in the buildings.
